


quæ meruit salutem

by armethaumaturgy



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Edward Paradox Grenore living his best life i guess, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-24 00:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armethaumaturgy/pseuds/armethaumaturgy
Summary: edward's childhood is much easier now.





	quæ meruit salutem

“Look at you! What a good boy!” A soft voice, enough to pull him out of the reverie of the book. The letters and words have long since stopped making sense, his attention pulled inside, into his thoughts. “Did you read all these already, Edward?”

He nods, sliding the book closed and hopping from his chair. There’s a stack on the edge of the table, pages upon pages he’d went through looking for something interesting.

She welcomes him with a warm embrace when he runs towards her, lifting him with little problem and spinning in place until both their heads spun. “You’re such an amazing boy!” she praises, pressing her lips to his forehead.

Edward beams up at her as he’s placed back onto the solid ground. “Thank you, mama!”

She cradles his face with a palm, rubbing his cheek. “Maybe you should stop reading for a bit, dear,” she mutters, peering into his eyes. “Your eye still looks bad. Does it hurt at all?”

He shakes his head vehemently, reaching up to grasp her hand and hug it to his chest, much to her elation. Her laughter is like twinkling bells.

Her face bears no marks of age when she looks at him and smiles; her eyes twinkle like stars and the frowns that passed her features around Asker are nowhere to be seen. Edward’s smile falls when she looks away, when her attention returns to the table. She’s still impressed by the stack of books he’d gone through today.

This is the life Grace deserved.

* * *

“Are you done?”

Edward looks up from the bot on the table, eyes following each movement of the man sauntering into the room. A glare etched into his features, expectations high and just waiting for a reality check. He rounds the table and picks the bot up.

It whirrs into life and blinks up at him with lazy green light. It doesn’t have a core (it’s not like he has a spare core or two for a kid to play around with), doesn’t respond to any inputs, but it floats effortlessly between the two of them. The man turns an almost impressed stare at the boy.

“Hm, you did… well,” he says, and it’s more than obvious to the both of them the words feel foreign on his tongue. A hand reaches out, so close to Edward’s hair before it is grasped.

Asker’s face twists with pain; Edward’s grip doesn’t let up.

“ ** _D̪͉͇͕̰̲̊͗̚o͎͔̖̪͂́̕ṉ̗̘ͦ̋ͦ̇̏ͧ͘’̛̘̪̬̠̜̫̱ͩ̏t̤̼̖̬̟̜͎̊̒̚͡ ͈͑́̍̃̓t̡̖̼͍o͒҉̪̜͙̳̱̙u̥̭̤̣͇̟̾̊̆̕c͘h̶̟̗̜̳̜̼̞͊ͬ ̠̳͙̺͈̦́ͧ̎̏́m̴͎͎ͪe͈̠̯̼̭͖ͦ.̋ͣͫ̉̆̅_** ”

For a second, reality shifts and Edward’s face is jaded, adult features staring at Asker with unbridled hatred within eyes as black as the night. The next second everything is back to normal, Edward’s hand back by his side as he shuffles off the too-tall chair, shoes squeaking along the wooden floor.

“I’m glad you liked my bot, father!” he says, bouncing on the heels of his feet. “I’m going to tell mother!”

* * *

The servants avoid him. One would swear on her left arm she saw him at midnight, disappearing into thin air with a snack from the pantry.

Mother doesn’t, so he doesn’t mind.

Her garden blossoms like never before, magnolias and lilies permeating the air with their scent like a white, pristine beacon. Edward’s favorite spot is by her table; he’d brought a whole chair from the sitting room that no one uses anyway and covered it in blankets from the guest rooms that no one uses either.

He watches Mother as she works, peers at her over the edge of a book he pretends to be reading, components he plays idly with. Smiles at her whenever she glances over, hands and face dirty with soil and yet still glowing. She returns the smile every single time.

He holds his tongue when she can’t figure something obvious out.

* * *

“Edward, what are those?”

He doesn’t answer, cornering the man in the kitchen. Being half his height, he still manages to make him cower.

“Edward,  _what_ are those?!” Asker repeats, an edge of fear crawling its way into his voice.

_Good_.

“I call them,” he says, eyes shining pink. The weapons crackle with energy, the crystal within his chest gaining intensity as well. The whole kitchen is bathed in pink light even during the afternoon. “Dynamo.”

Asker looks half impressed, half angry, and one hundred percent scared, especially when the Dynamo pins him against the wall. Cupboards clatter, cutlery clinking against each other within the drawer. Edward walks up into Asker’s personal space, somehow looking down at him even from beneath.

“I saw what happened earlier. You were about to hit Grace.”

He knew the signs all too well to recognize when Grace had been a second from sprawling on the floor with an aching face, courtesy of her loving husband.

Edward’s blood boils and so does the space around him, breaking into pink and white shards as he stares his father down.

“If you ever,” he pauses, “ _ever_ ,” is repeated, “do that, you  ** _w̘̭͖̫͙͔͊͆̋̉i͍̣͓̳̗͇ͦͦl̻̭͍̥̞ͬ̈́̈́͠l̰̫̤͓̫͇͆ͯ͑̍̒̉̚ ̧̓̐̄̑̓͌͂n̸͈͇̩̖̏̚o̸̺̦͉̫͙͎̹ͤ͋̾t͖̥̩̙̯̿́̋̒ͭͬ̉ͅ ̌ͩ͑sͦ̓̊͝e͇̎e̳̞̣̜̻̦ͭ̽ ̼͍̉̃̊̈͝t͙͎̮̬̮̺̞ͤ͝h͈̋̎̓͒͟e͇̣̖̪̮ͣͣ͒̇ ͚̠͈̮̘̹͑ͅl̡ͪͮĭ̭̬̝̟̖ͮg̲ͧh̫̗̟̣͂̄̏t̬̭̹͕͓͛̐͐̍̔͘ ̪̻̱̰͔̟̊o͎͖͓̼͑̅ͭ̊͑ͅf̟̳͈̪̟̼̺͌̑̊ͫ̄ ̛a̵̺̭̮ͤ͛ͥͧ̌ň͓o̜̗ͣ͡ṯ͍͙͖͍̈́ͨ͆͂́ͭ͝h͖͚̦̲̿ͯ̅̂e̼̼͚̮r͇̗̪̫̟͎̊̏̏̓͂̾ ̢̪̻͊ͬ͒ͮͣd̶̬̘̫̬̐̎ͪͬͣ͌ả͏̝͉y͈̻͕͔͇͕̔͝_**.͈͕̜̆̑̽͘”

Dynamo lets Asker go, disappearing with a small beep, and he all but crumples to the ground from the electric shock. Edward is rummaging through the cupboards already, standing on the counter to reach the uppermost shelf and bring down a well-hidden bar of chocolate.

He makes a small noise as he jumps off the counter. “I’m gonna cheer up mom!”

He leaves Asker in the kitchen and runs to the garden as fast as he can, bar clutched tightly within his small fingers. He’s smiling, unwrapping the red paper already. She loves this brand.


End file.
